Presidential Baseball Toss

April 14, 2009

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Profile America — Tuesday, April 14th. When President William Howard Taft went to the opening game of the baseball season on this day in 1910, it’s doubtful that he knew his desire for a spring outing would turn into a lasting tradition. At the game between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics, Taft was invited to throw out the first ball to start the season, tossing it to future Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson. The Senators won the game, but Philadelphia went on to beat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. That year, some 7 million fans went to major league games but most had to rely on newspapers for results. Now, nearly 81 million people attend big league games annually and millions more watch games and daily results on television. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 217
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 400
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1205
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html